S. 1147 (119th)Bill Overview

Defining Male and Female Act of 2025

Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues|Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Cosponsors
Support
Republican
Introduced
Mar 26, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief

This bill adds a new statutory chapter to Title 1 of the U.S. Code that defines terms such as 'male', 'female', 'man', 'woman', 'boy', 'girl', 'father', 'mother', 'sex', and 'gender identity' for the purpose of interpreting any federal law, rule, or agency action.

It defines 'male' and 'female' as the biological sex a person 'belongs, at conception,' based on reproductive functions (sperm or eggs) and declares sex an immutable biological classification.

The bill states that 'gender identity' is an internal, subjective sense and 'shall not be recognized by the Federal Government as a replacement for sex.'

Passage18/100

Highly contentious subject with broad federal reach, weak compromise features, and substantial legal and political resistance make enactment unlikely absent major modifications.

CredibilityPartially aligned

Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a clearly worded statutory definitional amendment that would change interpretive rules across federal law. It is explicit about the definitions themselves and the intended scope of application but sparse on implementation detail, interaction with existing statutory schemes, handling of edge cases, and oversight.

Contention72/100

Progressives emphasize discrimination and civil-rights harms.

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Who this appears to help vs burden50% / 50%
Federal agenciesFederal agencies
Likely helped
  • Federal agenciesCreates a single statutory definition of sex for federal agencies and laws, reducing definitional variance.
  • Targeted stakeholdersSupporters could argue it preserves sex-based program eligibility tied to biological sex.
  • Federal agenciesMay be presented as protecting single-sex facilities and sex-separated sports at federally regulated institutions.
Likely burdened
  • Federal agenciesWould likely deny federal recognition of transgender individuals' gender identities for benefits and records.
  • Federal agenciesIs likely to prompt litigation over conflicts with existing agency interpretations and anti-discrimination law.
  • Federal agenciesCould create federal-state conflicts where state law allows gender-marker changes or broader recognition.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

Progressives emphasize discrimination and civil-rights harms.
Progressive10%

Likely strongly opposed; views definitions as exclusionary and discriminatory toward transgender and nonbinary people.

Sees the bill as removing federal recognition of gender identity and undermining legal protections and access to services.

Likely resistant
Centrist50%

Mixed reaction; appreciates demand for definitional clarity but worries about rigidity, implementation conflicts, and litigation.

Would seek targeted fixes, clearer medical standards, and transitional provisions.

Split reaction
Conservative85%

Generally supportive; sees the bill as restoring biological definitions, protecting sex-based rights, and preventing gender identity from supplanting sex in federal law.

Views as necessary to preserve fairness in women’s programs and safety in single-sex facilities.

Leans supportive
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood18/100

Highly contentious subject with broad federal reach, weak compromise features, and substantial legal and political resistance make enactment unlikely absent major modifications.

Scope and complexity
86%
Scopesweeping
52%
Complexitymedium
Why this could stall
  • No official cost or CBO estimate included
  • Extent of litigation and judicial outcomes
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

Progressives emphasize discrimination and civil-rights harms.

Highly contentious subject with broad federal reach, weak compromise features, and substantial legal and political resistance make enactmen…

Unlocked analysis

Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a clearly worded statutory definitional amendment that would change interpretive rules across federal law. It is explicit about the definitions themselves and the…

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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